


Matilda

by eyemeohmy



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: F/M, Smoochies, Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-25 20:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2634614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyemeohmy/pseuds/eyemeohmy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nautica and Brainstorm make a new best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Matilda

**Author's Note:**

> Gift fic for dataglitch on tumblr in return for a lovely drawing of Quark and Nightbeat. They asked for something involving Brainstorm/Nautica. Tame, just some smoochies.
> 
> I must warn you: there is a spider in this, so arachnophobes or anyone uncomfortable even reading about spiders may wanna check outta this fic.
> 
> I may or may have not been influenced from playing/watching "Arachnophobia" repeatedly in the background for the past few days.

"But, therein lies the problem: the tachyons will remain unstable, no matter the amount of engineering."

"Instability is a risk worth taking."

"You could end up half-way across the universe with no direction or control of passageway."

"Isn’t that the fun part, though? Facing the unknown!"

"Well, yes, but there is very little mystery to explore when the tachyons have ravaged you from the inside out."

"We’re testing on guinea pigs first."

"Is that why you were in the brig earlier?"

"Shh. That’s our secret."

Nautica went to reply to Brainstorm when the sudden loud yap caught her attention. She turned wide, blue optics down the hall they’d been passing. A small, deformed looking Insecticon was barking and pouncing at a corner of the dead end.

"Is that…?" She looked back to Brainstorm.

The Bob-clone furiously ticked its multiple legs. “That’ll be our secret, too,” Brainstorm snickered and winked.

Nautica just smiled lightly and shook her head. “Good thing Sunstreaker’s no longer on board…” She watched the Bob-clone a moment, back end up and wagging in the air. “I think he’s caught something.”

Brainstorm’s optics glowed curiously. “One of the turbo-mice that escaped my lab, probably,” he said.

"Didn’t you unleash them on purpose?"

And also strapped microscopic cameras on their backs to spy on people… but Brainstorm decided that wasn’t an important detail to share. “I bumped into the cage five or six times, that’s all; oops, clumsy me,” he insisted, but she knew he was lying. Either way, the scientist headed down the corridor, fingers clutched around the briefcase cuffed to his wrist. Nautica followed, closely, keeping her optics on the fretting Bob-clone.

"Whatta got there, compound-eyes?" Brainstorm asked, stopping behind the growling Insecticon. "One of my voyeuristic little friends?"

Bob-clone whimpered and backed away, looking pathetically up at Nautica.

Nautica was the first to see the culprit—but it was no turbo-mouse. “Oh, wow!” Her optics brightened, face beaming excitedly. She gently shuffled Bob-clone aside to kneel before the corner, holding out her hands, palms up. “How’d you get on board, sweetspark…”

Brainstorm tilted his helm, a little surprised.

"It’s okay, girl," Nautica cooed. She carefully, gently held her hands beneath the eight-legged, twenty-eyed, silver-red spider clinging to the wall. "I won’t hurt you." She clucked her tongue, and perhaps it was Bob-clone’s growl that eventually coaxed the spider slowly into her hands. It fit almost perfectly, having to tuck back its legs in order to fit.

"Oh, she’s so beautiful," Nautica whispered, utterly fascinated.

"If I’m not mistaken, that’s an _argentum_ ," Brainstorm said. He bent forward, examining the sheepish spider, one hand stroking his chin. "The coloration is similar."

"She’s an _argentum crura_ , yes. And I know she’s a girl because she has no marking on her abdomen or cephalothorax,” Nautica explained. “Males tend to be more colorful; always bear an octagon-esque shape on their cephalothorax. The brighter the color and bigger the marking, the more attractive they are to potential mates.”

"I didn’t peg you for an arachnid enthusiast," Brainstorm replied.

Nautica chuckled. “Well, I don’t know if ‘enthusiast’ is the right word, but… I do find them very intriguing. Their techno-organic genes are extremely rare in nature. At least where I come from.” She guided the spider into one hand; the spider once more nervously tucked her arms beneath her. “She’s frightened, poor little bit.” Nautica glanced back at Bob-clone and playfully chided, “You scared her half to death!”

Bob-clone huffed.

Brainstorm squat down beside Nautica. He raised a finger, and the spider went completely still as he brushed one bent leg. “Ultra Magnus won’t take very well to a stow-away,” he said. “He might get… angry”—the word he wanted to use was “horrified”—“enough to drop the entire Autobot Code rule book on the pretty fem.”

Nautica frowned. “We have to put her some place safe, until we reach and stop on another planet, let her go,” she insisted.

Brainstorm shrugged. “Well, the mice cage is currently mice-less…”

Nautica beamed again. “Perfect!” She leaned over, pecking Brainstorm on the cheek. The mech’s optics widened, lighting up a bright yellow. Nautica turned her wide smile back on the spider. “Hear that, darling? We’re going to take good care of you.”

Bob-clone yipped.

"You did good to find her!"

Though this meant he could not kill the spider, that was enough for Bob-clone, and his numerous eyes squinted in a way to mimick smiling. Brainstorm did the same, actually.

"But you have to promise you won’t experiment on her," Nautica added.

Brainstorm placed a hand over his spark, the other raised. “You can trust me,” he insisted.

Nautica and Brainstorm gathered back to their feet, Nautica slowly so as not to frighten the stiff spider. “We should give her a name,” she suggested, stroking a leg.  
"Matilda."

Nautica blinked, looking up at Brainstorm, a little confused. “Ma… Matilda…?” she repeated.

Brainstorm shrugged. “It’s exotic?”

Nautica chuckled. “Okay,” she said, “Matilda it is.”

Brainstorm preened. “Reward my genius,” he demanded, pointing at his face.

Nautica laughed. She carefully lowered Matilda, leaning in to kiss Brainstorm’s maskplate. Brainstorm purred and nuzzled her forehead; Nautica automatically nuzzled back. She kissed his maskplate again before stepping back. “You really like this kissing thing,” she teased.

"Human culture is so weird, and a little gross," Brainstorm said, "but it’s also pretty fun, and just the perfect amount of crazy I can appreciate."

"I can’t wait to meet these organics face to face," Nautica said, "from what you’ve told and shown me, they’ll be quite entertaining."

Brainstorm rubbed the back of his head, guiding Nautica and Matilda back to the lab. Bob-clone followed at their heels. “Yeah, well, it won’t be for a while,” he replied, “… unless we use the tachyons.”

"I thought we were going to test on guinea pigs first?"

"Right, riiight. Boo." A pause. "Do you think Matilda would eat the mice?"

"Well," Nautica invented, deeply, and Brainstorm casually placed a hand on her lower back, "the diet of the _argentum_ is varied. You see…"

**Author's Note:**

> Matilda is designed after a giant space huntsman spider.


End file.
